Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - This past week Wednesday, a State Supreme Court judge in Erie County issued a temporary restraining order that put a halt to the New York State Department of Transportation's (NYSDOT) efforts to ready for construction of the $1 billion Kensington Expressway project in Buffalo's East Side neighborhood.
This comes as a result of lawyers representing the East Side Parkways Coalition filing lawsuits against NYSDOT over residents' concerns focusing on the community already being one with extremely high rates of respiratory illness and cardiovascular illness.
Three of the five lawsuits filed against NYSDOT will be heard in court on Friday, Oct. 25. Any work on the project cannot resume until after that hearing.
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The news of Wednesday's temporary injunction against NYSDOT did not come as a surprise to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, especially with other similar projects across the state seeing lawsuits being filed from community groups opposing whatever the state is proposing.
"We are in litigation, not unlike what we went with with the Syracuse project, the I-81. Litigation, now we're finally getting shovels in the ground," said Gov. Hochul during a visit to the City of Buffalo this past Friday. "And this is a project that came to my attention from the community. This is something that Crystal Peoples-Stokes said it was one of her top priorities, representing the ROCC organization (Restoing Our Community Coalition) and Stephanie Barber-Geter, and others who waited for years to have a governor who would listen to members of the community who wanted there to be a healing, the reuniting of a neighborhood that was so cruelly divided decades ago when they did not have any political clout. And I stepped up and said, 'If this is what the community wants, I will find the resources to achieve this.' Now we're in litigation, it happens every single project, and we'll be looking at our options.
During this past Wednesday's court date regarding the Kensington Expressway, state attorneys were concerned that any delays to the project could result in the funding from the federal government drying up, putting the initiative in jeopardy.
Come the Oct. 25 hearing, there is the potential Judge Emilio Colaiacovo could issue a preliminary injunction, resulting in a pause in the project until the case has come to a conclusion in court.
"There are federal dollars involved with this. This is why it's important for this to move forward. I hope we can overcome the legal challenges, I expect we will. But I also would say that we are not able to sit on this money for a long time," Gov. Hochul detailed. "It is dedicated now, again, the $300 million of federal backing, $55 million of which that Secretary Pete Buttigieg came to Buffalo to announce for the planning that's underway. So I would say it's important that we move this project forward."
Hochul adds these legal delays are just "the nature of major, large scale projects in the State of New York."
Buffalo Common Council Majority Leader Leah Halton-Pope doesn't know if the court decision Wednesday came as a huge surprise. She feels it's more of an opportunity for people to further voice their opinions on the matter, which is a given right to anyone in the country.
"To be honest, the restoration of the Kensington is a big deal, one way or the other, to undoing an unnecessary harm that was created to a community. How that's handled is something that I'm kind of working through mentally a little bit," admitted Halton-Pope this past Friday. " want to commend the Governor. I want to commend the [State Assembly] Majority Leader, Crystal Peoples-Stokes, former Senator and current Congressman Tim Kennedy, the Mayor of the City of Buffalo for their leadership on this, and those community groups for being active in this process for almost 30 years.
"In some cases, I think that reclaiming a community and restoring access, while still preserving connectivity is really important. What I love about this country is that we're able to have differing opinions, and when we have these differing opinions, there's a legal system that's in place to help us work through that. So this is the process that we're in right now."
While Halton-Pope is still committed and supportive of the project along Humboldt Parkway, she says the final say will come from the courts.
"I will wait and see what they say, and I would hope they would help us navigate between both of those opinions appropriately. So I don't want to look at this as a win or a loss, as a good thing or a bad thing. I think this is just reflective of the greatness of our country and the community as a whole, where opinions can be heard, they're valued, and we have an opportunity," Halton-Pope said.
The Ellicott District Councilwoman does acknowledge that the potential of a preliminary injunction could jeopardize the funding for the project. She believes that's where residents need to start thinking through how they communicate that with other people.
"I think thinking that the money is just going to exist forever is the miscommunication that I think our community is missing a little bit. Once it's gone, it's going to be impossible to get it back. We've never had this access, so it took all of the stars lining up at the right time," Halton-Pope noted. "We needed the right president, we needed the right governor, and we needed the right local electeds in place to allow this to happen, and the community to not waver in that. To that end, we'll have to wait and see what happens. I don't have a crystal ball. If I did, I'd be really wealthy right now."
What Halton-Pope feels is most important is how the differing opinions are able to figure out a middle ground is. If that's not attainable, that's not being a community.
"Buffalo is still the 'City of Good Neighbors'. We still know how to speak to each other, we know how to listen to each other. We know how to take time and understand our differing sides, and figure out what that middle ground is. That's what I'm supportive of," she said.
Meanwhile, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown is one that didn't expect to see the decision from the State Supreme Court come down this past week. All Brown is concerned about, along with several others, is bringing overall improvement to that area of the City of Buffalo.
"Certainly everybody wants to make sure that project is a benefit to the surrounding residents. I know the state has been sweating the details on that project, making sure all of the resident concerns are addressed. I believe the project eventually will move forward, but listening to the residents, listening to people's concerns and addressing those concerns is important," Mayor Brown said this past Friday.
Mayor Brown is also concerned with the potential of further delays with such a project, especially if the preliminary injunction is granted by the State Supreme Court.
"This project is going to be built out with state and federal funds. Delays will make the project more expensive, and there is a limit to the amount of money that is available for any project. So hopefully this will be able to be worked out satisfactorily," Mayor Brown said. "I know there are some residents that have concerns, some residents that want to see the project move forward, and hopefully, through this process, the project won't be delayed too long and the best thing will be done for the residents of that area of our city."
While Mayor Brown is in wait and see mode with the status of the Kensington Expressway project and the lawsuits unfolding in court, he does believe there's still a great commitment from the state and federal government to move the project forward.
"There are some concerns that have been expressed by some residents. Those concerns are being addressed, and hopefully the project will move forward in a way that will be incredibly beneficial to the people that live there," he said.